Summit County Labor News

Back in the mid-twenties, a bunch of rubberworkers, who had had an undercover union that was busted up by spies decided to try again, so they asked Wilmer Tate and me to join them and help in the organization work.

Their first organization had its office ransacked, the books destroyed and furniture smashed: The membership list got into the bosses' possession and quite a few members lost their jobs. To avoid this happening in the new union, it was decided that nobody could join unless vouched for by a member.

I don't remember the incident but my informant is a man in whom I have utmost confidence, so it must have happened. This particular night I was at the desk taking the applications. A man came in and laid the initiation fee on the desk and asked for a card. He had no sponsor so I refused him.

Some years later, when I got acquainted with John House, he told me about it. He told me how sore he was at me. He had been saving for months to scrape-up the money-a few pennies at a time, only to be turned down.

It turned out all right, as John got a card when the Goodyear was organized. As President of that union, he led the strike that convinced the Rubber Barons that Labor was going to have to be recognized.

Another incident with that organization is worth telling. We called the union, The Akron Civic Club. We held smokers with a few "Huskies' from the pits going two or three rounds for the good of the cause. We put on another show occasionally, we called these "Navel Activities." After the show, Tate or I or maybe somebody else would explain unionism and answer questions. We developed quite a good sized organization.

One night after I had made my speil somebody got up and proposed that we come out in the open and'get a union charter. I explained that Green and I were Coshocton products and that I would be willing to take the matter up with Bill and I was sure I could get them a Federal Union charter if they wanted to make the move and risk the consequences.

They didn't want a Federal Union, they wanted an International Union. It was decided to send a committee to Coshocton to talk to Bill about the matter. I found out when he would be home and made the arrangements for the meeting. Some time later, on a Sunday, Tate, a guy named Davis, who ran a Rubberworkers' paper, and a carpenter from Portage county, and I drove down to meet with Bill.

We called him at his home. I introduced everyone and we sat down to start the confab, then I happened to notice the sheet of music laying open on the piano. It was a popular tune at that time "The Russian Lullaby". That was too good to pass up and I started to needle Bill. Tate got all excited, he was afraid I was going to get Bill mad.

We explained our problem and Bill promised to take the matteer up with the AFL executive committee. He thought the best way to organize the rubberworkers was in a vertical union. He didn't think his executive committee would agree with him. As we were leaving he turned to me and said: "Jim, if you can get those rubberworkers to organize, I'll try to get them whatever kind of union they want".

Later we finally got the rubberworkers organized, he wasn't a bit pleased that I fought to get them into a vertical union.

This Akron Civic club went the way of the previous efforts, but the boys that were in it had some idea of how to proceed later on.

JDM McCARTAN